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Multiplayer gaming using gps-enabled portable gaming devicesRelated Patent Categories: Education And Demonstration, Organized Armed Or Unarmed Conflict Or ShootingMultiplayer gaming using gps-enabled portable gaming devices description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070190494, Multiplayer gaming using gps-enabled portable gaming devices. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATION DATA [0001] This application claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 60/840,096, filed Aug. 25, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety; this application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/344,612, filed Jan. 31, 2006 and entitled "Pointing Interface for Person-to-Person Information Exchange," which claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 60/717,591, filed Sep. 17, 2005, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety; and this application is also a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/278,531, filed Apr. 3, 2006 and entitled "Method and Apparatus for an On-Screen/Off-Screen First Person Gaming Experience," which claims priority to provisional application Ser. No. 60/668,299, filed Apr. 4, 2005, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety FIELD OF THE APPLICATION [0002] The present invention relates to portable gaming devices. BACKGROUND [0003] There are currently mobile social networking systems or applications known in the art. Such applications are generally operated as managed services by application service providers ("ASPs") and operate using several common characteristics. For example, users typically create unique personal profiles that include basic information including age, gender, user name, interests, profession, history, testimonials and information about their network. In some applications, users map their relationship with other members, either by inviting other members to join their network (e.g., Friendster.TM. and/or Linkedin.TM.), or by using software to scan existing relationships recorded in computer contact software (e.g., Spoke.TM. and/or Visible Path.TM.). Most commonly, these applications provide such functions as friend-finding, text-dating and community message aggregation. Friend-finder applications (e.g., Dodgeball.TM.) can identify the location of the user and the friend of a user and alert the user when the friend is within a certain proximity. Such applications may also consult the relationship map and identify "friends of friends" who have announced they are within a certain range of the user's vicinity. Text-dating applications (e.g., MobiVibe.TM.) allow users to connect with new friends who meet age and gender criteria, enabling users to communicate, e.g., to exchange text messages. Community message aggregators (e.g., Upoc.TM.) distribute messages from one member to all members within a specific community. A system disclosed in pending U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0177614, which is hereby incorporated by reference, enables like-minded mobile device users to meet one another, on a permission basis, based upon one or more factors, such as: each user's reciprocal networking objective, the nature of the industry in which the user works, the user's level within the management hierarchy of his or her company, any specialty function the individual may possess, and so forth. [0004] A problem with the current mobile social networking systems is that they do not allow a user to target other users by simply pointing at the then current location of that target user (or target group of users). A pointing method is highly convenient and intuitive for users and provides a significant advantage over other more cumbersome and time-consuming methods, such as dialing a phone number, typing in an email-address, or entering a particular coordinate or identifier. Another problem with current mobile social networking applications is that they do not enable users to engage in collaborative multi-player games such as "tag" by pointing their portable computing devices, or a portion thereof, at the locations of other users and firing simulated weapons upon them. SUMMARY [0005] The methods and apparatus as disclosed herein enable a portable gaming device users engage in a targeting game in which users wander about the real physical world and aim their portable gaming devices (or a portion thereof) at other users of other portable gaming devices as a means of scoring points, inflicting damage, or otherwise achieving gaming advantage with respect to the other users. Points scored, damaged inflicted, and/or other gaming advantage acquired as a result of a first user targeting a second user by aiming his or her portable gaming device at the location of the second user may be moderated in software by the intervening distance between the first and second user, the accuracy of the aiming vector performed by the first user as he or she aims his portable gaming device at the second user, intervening simulated barriers between the first user and the second user, the orientation of the second user with respect to portable computing device of the first user, the status of a simulated shields employed by the second user, and/or the selected simulated weapons mode and/or simulated ammunition level of the first user. In this way, a plurality of users may engage in a collaborative targeting game within the real world based upon their real relative locations, distance, and orientations within the real world as well as based upon simulated conditions such as weapons, barriers, shields, and ammunition levels. [0006] A software application is executed by/running on a server or a group of servers. The application, which is operative to keep track of the current geographic location of a plurality of users, is utilized in connection with each user using a portable gaming device enabled with a Global Positioning System ("GPS") transceiver. The portable gaming device, as defined herein, may be as dedicated personal gaming device such as a Gameboy.TM., or a general purpose portable computing device that is used to run a gaming application such as a cell phone, media player, Personal Digital Assistant ("PDA"), or another mobile computing device. The software application that runs on the server and keeps track of the current geographic location of each of a plurality of users is referred to herein as a user tracking application or "UTA." The server or group of servers that runs the UTA software is referred to herein as the UTA server. Thus, embodiments of the present invention comprise a UTA server that is in wireless communication with a plurality of portable gaming devices, with the UTA server receiving and storing current geographic location information from each of the plurality of portable gaming devices, thereby keeping track of the current geographic location of each user of the each of the plurality of portable gaming devices. [0007] A gaming application moderates game play among the plurality of users. The gaming application may run upon the UTA server or upon a separate processor or server that is in signal communication with the UTA server. For simplicity of the current description, the gaming application will be described as running upon the UTA server although it may run on other processors, including at least in part upon the processor of one or more portable gaming devices. In some embodiments a first user may also initiate communication with a second user through the portable gaming devices, thereby enabling a user to hold a verbal conversation with teammates and/or opponents. [0008] The above summary of the present invention is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present invention. The detailed description and figures will describe many of the embodiments and aspects of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present embodiments will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein: [0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a UTA server, which is connected or connectable to one or more networks for implementing a managed service according to an embodiment of the invention; [0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a portable gaming device configured with appropriate hardware and software according to an embodiment of the invention; [0012] FIGS. 3, 3b, and 4 illustrate a method of operation according to an embodiment of the invention; [0013] FIGS. 5a-5d illustrate current positional coordinates of the portable gaming device according to an embodiment of the invention; [0014] FIG. 6 illustrates a collaborative gaming process wherein two users work together to score a hit upon a third user by each targeting the third user at the same time according to an embodiment of the invention; [0015] FIG. 7 illustrates a portable gaming device aimed by a targeting user in a particular direction according to an embodiment of the invention; and [0016] FIG. 8 illustrates a multi-step targeting method in which the user specifies two targeting vectors that bound an angular targeting region according to an embodiment of the invention. [0017] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0018] Embodiments of the present invention enable a multi-player real-world gaming experience using handheld portable gaming devices enabled with GPS transceivers and orientation sensors. Embodiments of the present invention are comprised of methods and apparatus that enable a first user of a first GPS enabled portable gaming device to target a second user of a second GPS enabled portable gaming device by pointing a portion of the first portable gaming device at the current spatial location of the second user while simultaneously engaging an appropriate element of a user-interface of the first portable gaming device. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention allow a first user of a first portable gaming device to target a second user of a second portable gaming device and fire a simulated weapon upon the second user by the first user by pointing a portion of his portable gaming device in a direction that is substantially aimed at the current location of the second user and engaging an appropriate element of a user-interface of the first portable gaming device. In addition, embodiments of the present invention provide unique methods in which the first and/or second portable computing devices establish and monitor simulated shields, establish and monitor simulated barriers, establish and monitor simulated weapons and ammunition, establish and monitor simulated heath levels, and/or maintain gaming scores related to the targeting and firing of the simulated weapons and the like. Continue reading about Multiplayer gaming using gps-enabled portable gaming devices... Full patent description for Multiplayer gaming using gps-enabled portable gaming devices Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Multiplayer gaming using gps-enabled portable gaming devices patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. 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